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RF SKIN TIGHTENING WAS HOT TOPIC AT LASER MEETING by ASLMS Radiofrequency energy is increasingly being used to tighten skin without the need for cutting, say experts with the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS). The group recently held its Annual Scientific Meeting in Anaheim, California, and radiofrequency (RF) tightening was literally a hot topic.

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Press release from the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) June 25, 2003

This technique works by delivering radiofrequency heat energy through a handpiece to the dermis, deep below the skin surface. The heat causes subsurface tissue to immediately contract, and then gradually tighten. The handpiece includes a cryogen cooling plate that protects the outer layer of the skin.

"This may be the most exciting technology to come along since the carbon dioxide laser," said Dr. Tina Alster, a dermatologic surgeon in Washington, D.C. She presented research findings on 30 patients for nasolabial folds, the lines that extend from the nose to the mouth. After just one treatment, the patients averaged about a 50 percent tightening of the folds. Although it was not part of the study, she subsequently observed that additional treatments could provide further improvement.

"It has revolutionized my practice because it’s enabling me to offer something that really is different," Alster said. "It’s an ideal treatment for women in their 40s or so, who are starting to get prominent nasolabial folds but are not candidates for a facelift."

Dr. David Goldberg, a New York dermatologic surgeon, said he has been using the RF technique mostly to treat drooping jowls.

"There is no other way to tighten jowls, outside of surgery," he said. "It’s almost unbelievable. It’s totally noninvasive, it’s a 10-minute procedure and it promotes tightening of the jowls, although certainly not as much as surgery. But people don’t want to have surgery, and we can do this procedure on their jowls or eyelids before the drooping gets too far advanced. With the economy going sour the way it has been, people want to optimize how they look and they want a noninvasive, nonstressful treatment. That’s what this is all about."

Exciting as these results are, it’s the promise of additional potential treatment capabilities that makes RF technology so appealing. Dr. Suzanne Kilmer, ASLMS president and a dermatologic surgeon in Sacramento, CA, said there was discussion at the ASLMS meeting about nonfacial applications.

"We’ve been using it on the abdomen and thighs," she explained, noting that the subject surfaced during expert panel discussions on nonablative skin resurfacing.

"Our clinic was among the very first to use this procedure on humans, so we are comfortable going off the face," Kilmer said. "This is all very new and we don’t have a lot of hard data, but we’re finding that it works in a lot of people with just one treatment, and probably will work even better with additional treatments. This could be a very big thing for women who have had children and have some loose abdominal skin but are not yet candidates for a tummy tuck, which is really a major procedure that leaves a scar from hip bone to hip bone."

Kilmer also sees potential applications for RF tightening on saggy arms, although that has not yet been studied. It may be used in the future in conjunction with liposuction, which removes fat but can leave skin sagging, and potentially for acne.

The ASLMS meeting provided opportunities for these experts and others to share their results and discuss them. The initial discussions about RF tightening occurred at last year’s ASLMS annual meeting in Atlanta.

"That’s really what these sessions are all about, to further expand and understand the role of all of these devices and to better understand the mechanisms by which they work," said Goldberg. "I think RF will truly turn the cosmetic dermatology world upside down."

With nearly 3,000 members, ASLMS is the world's largest professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in patient care by advancing laser applications and related technologies, and setting standards for treatment. Although the RF technology is not laser-based, it performs a similar function by delivering carefully controlled heat.

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